Folding couch



D. C. TRAVIS FOLDING COUCH 4 Sheets-Sheet l ffy/497275Z fmws ydfw Nov. l5, 1927.

l 1,649,627 D. C. TRAVIS FOLDING COUCH Filed Sept. 12. 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 15, 1927.

D. C. TRAVIS FOLDING COUCH l Filed Sept. 12. 1924l IWI 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 MQW Nov. 15, 1927. 1,649,627 D. c. TRAVIS FOLDING conca Filed sept. 12. 1924 4 sheets-sheet 4 L aI A PII Patented Nov. 15, 1927.

UNITE!) variar orifice.

DON CARLOS TRAVS, OF KENOSHA, TNSCONSIN, AFSSIGNGB TO SIMMONS COMPANY, 0F

KENOSHA, XVISCONSL'N, A. CORPORATIGN 0F DELAEVARE.

FOLDING COUCI-I.

Application. filed September 12, 19.24. fterial No. 737,222.

My invention relates to improvements in folding couches. Although certain features of the invention ni'ay be employed with other types of couches, the invention as a whole, is of particular rervice in connection with that type of folding couch in which the bedding is stored between the relatively foldable portions of the structure when the couch is in folded condition.

The principal objects of my invention are to provide a couch of the character describeil which will be comfortable for sitting or lounging purposes, when not in use as a bed; to provide a construction of the character referred to in which ample space is provided for the convenient storage of the'necessary bedding; to provide a construction which may be manipulated without the e1;- penditure of undue effort; to provide an aiAn rangement in which the various folding parts of the structure automatically assume their proper position when the couch is folded and unfolded; to provide a construction having improved pillow stops which are concealed when the structure is in use as a couch; to provide a Structure which shall be` neat in appearance, light in weight, compact, simple, rugged, etcient, durable, and economical to manufactur and i'n general to provide an improved construction of the character referred to. n

In the drawings which illustrate a select ed embodiment of my invention, Fig. 1 is an end elevation of the couch showing same extended or unfolded for use as a bed of double width.

Fig. 2 is a partial plan view of the structure as shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing the couch folded.

Fig. l is a front or side elevation of t-ne couch as shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a section taken on the line 5 of Fig. 3.'

Fig. 6 is a front view showing the head or baclerest in effective position.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary end view similar to Fig. 1 showing the couch as used with ornamental foot and head boards, and

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary side elevation oi the couch shown in Fig. 7.

The structure in its main elements comprises a stationary supporting frame of couch width and a pair of relatively folding bed bottom sections, also of couch width and adapted to be relatively unfolded to form a hed bottom of substantially7 double the width of the couch. One of the sections is permanently located in face up position above the supporting structure while the other or folding section is adapted to swing upwardly and outwardly through an angle of 180 degrecs from its position superposed face downward above the first mentioned section and into a position alongside said first section and away from the supporting structure. El. space between the two sections when the couch is in normal or folded condition, serves to contain the bedding, including the pad or mattress which is permanently secured to the faces of the sections. A cushion is also secured to the opposite side of the folding section to form a comfortablesuih face for sitting or reclining upon.

The main supporting structure comprises a set of four legs, the front or outer legs being designated as 10, and the rear or inner legs being designated as 11. Said legs are connected at their ends by cross members 12, while the front legs 10, are connected together by longitudinal bars 13, and the rear legs 11 are connected by means of transverse bars 111-. The ends are braced by oblique bars as at 15. The rear legs 11 are braced by members as at 17, riveted respectively to the legs 11 and the longitudinal bar 14, and the front of the structure is braced by means of a lower tie bar 18 with diagonal braces 19.

The upper ends of the front legs 10 are extended upwardly as at 20, and in the upper ends of the extension 20, there are located pivot pins or studs 21. Said pivot pins 21 are preferably riveted into theparts 20, and extend inwardly to form journals upon which pivot certain movable parts of the construction. Among said parts are levers 22, which in the present instance comprise short lengths of angle iron, the ends of which constitute arms, 23 and 24, eX- tending in opposite directions from the pivot pin 21. To the ends of said arms by means of pins or rivets 25 and 26, there are pivoted the adjacent spaced side portions of the floating'section 27, and the folding 4section 28, said pins 25 and 26 passing respectively through the end bars 29 and 30 of the sections. lllhen the couch is extended to forni a hed, as indicated in Fig. l, the members 30, 2l and 29 at each end of the structure, which are made of angle iron, constitute in effect a substantially continuous rail, and lie in substantially the saine plane. As shown best in Fig. 2, the hori- Zontally projecting flanges of said angle iron n'ienibers are apertured as at 32 to receive the hooked ends 33 of the helicals 34, to which the wire link bed fabric is connected.

In order to resist the pull of said helicals 34, which are normally under considerable tension, 'there is employed a substantial diagonal brace har 36 at each end of the structure, the lower end of said hrace bar being riveted to the longitudinal bar while the upper end of said braced bar is bent to extend coaxiallv with the pivots 21 and bears against the vertical flange 37 of the angle iron spacing lever. Preferablg`- the upper end of said braced bar 36 is drilled out to tit around the inner end of the pivot pin 21, as indicated at 38 in Fig. Ll. The rear ends of the end hars 30 ofthe floating section are held apart by af longitndinall)T extending har 39, as shown in Fig. l7 which mayT be of angle iron construction. The front end of the end bars 29 of the folding section 28 are held apart by a har 40. Said bar ll() for purposes of rigidityT and to prevent relative twisting of the ends of the folding section, is preferably inadey in the form of a tube, such tube being of oval or circular cross section to avoid the presence of sharp edges.

As will be readili7 understood, the adjacent hinged sides of the floating section 30, andthe folding section 29, are hingedly supported by the pivoted levers 22. I have designated the section 2T as floating, because said section, although in its two positions occupying a position parallel with the floor, rises into position level with the height of the foldinff section 29, when the bar is unfolded and descends into the lower position shown in Fig. 2, when the structure is in use as a couch. The front side of said floating section 2l is controlled in its movement by the arni 2st of the space lever as previous@7 described, while the rear side is supported and controlled in its movement by a pair of stationary cams located at the respective ends of the structure. As shown in the drawings, each of said Canis comprises a stamped steel plate 4:1, having a bottom flange 42 riveted to the end bar l2, the main portion of the cani plate 4l extending upwardl;7 and having a slightly offset upper extension 4t2 through which there is punched an oblique or diagonal slot 43. Said slot is preferably straight and serves as a `the folding section 28.

guide for a cani pin or stud flfl. fixed in the inner or rear end of the eros har titl of the floating section. The offsets t2 are spaccd apart the proper distance to permit free inovenient of the rear portion of the floating section .J7 therebetween.

It has been found that in a couch of this general type of construction, unless special means` bc employed, a very considerable of fort is required to unfold the strluftlxre, as it is usually necessary to stand at the side of the couch and bend over to pull up upon the har d0 or corresponding part. This places the operator in a somewhat awltvard position for applying angT considerable force and soule assistance is very desirable. 'In the present instance such assistance is pro vided by a pair of coiled tension springs 45, one at each end of the strrufture and connected rcspectiveli7 between fthe plate -l`t and a lug 4G secured to the cross member 30 of the lfloating section and extending downwardly a short distance therefrom. Said spring Lla at all times, and particularly when the couch is in folded condition aa shown in Fig. 9, exerts a strcing force tending to pull the Heating section 2i rearwardl)Y or upwardly. Also such pull, 'when the couch is in its folded condition as shown in Fig. 3 is in such direction as to cause said pull to be exerted in a slightly` upward direction, due to the fact that the front end of said spring 4:5 is located sonic distance below a `line extending through the rear end of the spring. and the front end of the floating section. Such lifting tendency serves to reduce whatever aligllt friction which may be present hetwccu the cani pin and the slot 43, during the einen]encclnent ofthe unfolding movement.

The springs la which thus tend to draw the floating section inwardly oliiviously, when the couch is in the position as shown in Fig. 3, tend to rotate the .space levers in a clockwise direction. ln order to maintain said space levers in correct vertical position when the conch is folded, and also, which is just as important, in order to reir der the force of said spring Ll5 effective to assist in the initial unfolding movement, the outer ends of the arms 23 are made with shoulders or square corners as indicated at 4i'. positioned to abut or engage against the horizontal flanges of the end hars 29 of The dimensions of said last named parte are .auch that the sec tion 2S is inaintained perpclnllcular to the spaced levers 23, and more` as a unit therewith during the initial unfolding infn-'cumul of the couch with the ass 1tance of springs 45, and until the said folding section appreaches a vertical position.` a t'tcr which no considerable effort is needed to complete the unfolding.

It will be observed by reference to Fig. l

il ll necesa? that the lower horizontally extending flanges of lthe end hars 29 and 30 extend a short distance beyond the pivotsv and26 respec tively, so that when the bed is extended as shown in said Fig. l, the extremities of said flanges contact with the under surface of the horizontal flanges 48 of the space lever, so that neither of the pivots can rise above a horizontal plane passing through the pivot 21 and therefore the horizontal alignment of the sections and the space lever 24 will be fixedly maintained. ln this connection it will be readilyy understood that the arm 24 of the space lever is relatively short and even if an excessive weight were placed upon the section 27. the lesser weight of thesection 28, because of its much greater leverage, is ample to prevent the said section 28 from rising.

It will be manifest that in no case can the section 2T rise either because of excessive weight placed upon the section 28` or due to the spring 45, since the cam pin 44 is limited in its upward movement by the end of slot 43. i

In connection with my improved couch, I employ a folding leg construction which has the desirable feature that the leg will fold up automatically duringthe initial half of thefolding operation, and vice versa, the leg will not commence to unfold until the folding section passes the vertical position` To this end, each of the outer legs 49 is pivoted on a pin or rivet 50 adjacent the outer' end of the folding section 28. The upper end of the leg 49 is extended above the section 28. as at 5l, and in the extremity thereof, there is located a pivot pin 52. Said pivot pin 52 serves as a lower pivotal support for the bow shaped pillow stop 53, said pillow stop also being braced by a tie-bar 54, the inner end of which is secured to the pillow stop by a rivet 55, while the outer end of said tie-bar 54 is secured to the outer fi end of the pillow stop by means of a pivot pin 52.

The inner end of the pillow stop 53 is made with a depending L shaped bend 56, and is pivotally mounted on the stationary pivot pin 2l. The distance between pivots 2l and 25 substantially equal to the distance between pivots and 52 so that when the folding section 28 is swung upwardly to a vertical position, the leg 49 will assume a position substantially parallel with the section 28, as will be seen from an inspection of 3. Then the folding movement of the folding section 28 is further continued, there is no further change in relative kositions of the leg, the pillow stop, and tie section, for the reason that the space lever 24 and the section 28 then move as a` unit around the stationary pivot 2l.

The floating section 30 is equipped with a pillow stop 57, similar in appearance to the pillow stop 53 on the folding section 28. Said pillow stop 57 is also for purposes of appearance, fitted with a tie bar 58, and is supported at its outer end by a rivet 59, and on the other end is secured in position on the section 27 by a pivot pin 44. It will be observed by reference to Figs. 2 and 3 that the pillow stops 53 and 57 are relatively offsetso thatthey will nest without interference.

It will be understood that the pad or mattress is strapped or tied to the sections 27 and 28. Preferably such pad is of one piece or continuous, so that it overlies that portion of the bed fabric which is connected to the space levers. It will be understood of course, that when the couch is folded as shown in Fig. 3, the space lever-s locate the faces of the bed bottom sections a sufficient distance apart to admit the two thicknesses of pad therebetween. together with other necessary bedding` such as pillows and blair lrets. fn order to provide a comfortable seat, the obverse face of the folding` section 2.8 is litted with a pad secured thereto by straps or other means. It will be observed that with the construction shown, because of the fact that the longitudinal bar 13 is located a substantial distance below the pivot 21, the

resiliency of the central portion of the eX- tended bed fabric is not affected. Furthermore, when the couch is folded as shown in Fig. 3. the front edge of the couch has no undesirable hardness or posed only of the strands of the flexible bed fabric. Also because of the fact that the space between the two sections is occupied by the pad and other bedding when the couch is sat upon, the weight of a sitting person 'is supported by both plies of the fabric.

An additional feature of my improved construction is the head or shoulder rest as shown best in Figs. 2 and 6. Said rest com-- prises a one piece U bar, the sides 60 of which are connected by a cross piece 61, the space between said cross piece and the end 62 of the U bar being crossed by a series of three fillers 63. The extremities of the said side pieces 60 are hingedly supported on thin steel slats 64 stretched between the cross bars 29, by means of end helicals 65. The elevated end of the head rest is main tained in raised position by means of a U- shaped strut 66. the strut 66 having side limbs 67, the extremities of which are bent around to enter apertures in small hinge plates 68, secured to the outer filler bars 63. Such pivotal connection permits the strut 66 to be swung parallel with the head rest and between the latter and the surface of the folding section 28, when the head rest is not needed. Small J-shaped clips 69, riveted lower end of the strut 66 when the head rest is in elevated position as shown in Fig. 6.

rigidity as it is eom-,

- to the end bar 29 serve as abutments for the l For the purpose of preventing the head rest from falling down when the bed is 1`1nfolded, I prefer to employ a small swinging button or catch 70, which is pivoted on the end bar 29, and may be swung around thru an angle of about 90 degrees to retain or release the head rest as occasion requires.

As is customary with couches of this generalcharacter, ornamental head and foot frames may be applied, in which case the pillowstop for the floating section may be dispensed with. Such ornamental foot and head trames, one ol? which `is indicated in Figs. 7 and 8, are preferably made detachable. In such case, the detachable fastening may consist of a headed pin or rivet 71 secured in each of the legs of the main strueture, and co-ope 1ating with a slot in an angie. plate 72, secured to each of the posts 73 of the detachable ends.

`The described details of construction being illustrated of merely one application of my invention, the scope of same should be determined by reference to the appended claim, said claim being construed as broadly as possible, consistent with the state of the art.

I claim as my invention:

In a folding couclnthe combination oit a supporting frame, a floating bed bottom seetion, a. depending arm pivotally connected at its lower end to one side of the floating section and pivotally connected at its upper end to the adjacent side of said supporting frame, a cani plate mounted on the opposite side of said frame and having an inclined cam surface for supporting the adjacent side of said floating section, a tension spring connected at one end to said cam plate below the lower end of said inclined cam surface and at its other end to said floatingr section at a point intermediate the cani and the arm, .said spring` normally tending;r to cause one side ot said floating bed bottom sect-ion to move upwardly on said inclined surface and the other side to swing in an upward direction about said pivotal oonnec' tion of said arm and under the control thereof.

DON CARLOS TRAVIS.

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